Palladium Books® Weekly Update – June 6, 2019
By Kevin Siembieda
One game system – every genre – countless worlds – endless adventure
We are on the verge of big things. And we, like you, are ready for them.
Several books are coming toward being finished. Artwork is pouring in for Garden of the Gods™ (looks great!) and for Rifts® Titan Robotics™ (dynamic and cool). I spoke with an industry pal yesterday. A big Palladium Fantasy player. He had only recently read the Garden of the Gods™ Raw Edition and raved about it. Said it blew him away and that he thought it was the best Fantasy sourcebook in years! I was thrilled to hear this because, a) that’s only the unfinished Raw Edition, the finished book will be even better, and b) my plan is to blow people’s minds with every new book we release this year! Even The Rifter® #83 and #84 are frickin’ awesome and fun. And all these books and a few others are moving toward getting finished and sent to the printer in the weeks ahead. In the Face of Death™ for Dead Reign®, too. Perhaps needless to say, we are getting pumped about these new titles being released.
The Rifts® Bestiary™ gets closer to completion every week. Yeah, I have been saying that for a while now, and it’s true. It has just been going slower than we anticipated. Unfortunately, we’ve been hit with a cluster of time consuming issues that have delayed progress a bit. First computer issues, then email issues, and most recently the progress of the Bestiary was confounded by a dumb mistake I had made. I’m working in many files at the same time. Well somehow, I overwrote my finished “D” animal file with the original unfinished working file and saved. Then I did a couple tweaks in it and saved again, changing the backup file to a the same unfinished junk. This happened weeks ago, but I only realized it last Friday when I was reviewing the files to see if I wanted to make any last minute adjustments before final layout of that section. What a heartbreaking and unwanted revelation. I had to rewrite nearly 30+ creatures. And nobody wants to rewrite and re-edit a hundred manuscript pages. That rewrite took a week. I’ve just finished it. The good news is, after I got over the initial shock and horror, the rewrites are even better than my previous work! I think I was so angry with myself and so determined to make the Rifts® Bestiary™ a great book, that once I put my mind to it, I was on fire. According to Alex, one of my editors, many of the old creatures felt completely new again. Which is, of course, my intention and a common result throughout this entire book, but I was glad hear that I had pulled it off for a second time.
If we are done with stinking, delay causing problems, we should be able wrap up soon. Big books like this with so many different elements are always a ton of work and seem to take forever to do them right, but it feels like we are entering the final stretch. I cannot wait to get the Rifts® Bestiary™ Volume One into your hands. Followed by The Rifter® #83, Garden of the Gods™ (Fantasy), In the Face of Death™ (zombies), The Rifter® #84, Chaos Earth® Psychic Scream™, Titan Robotics™, and, you know what? Even more are in the works.
We are all too focused on banging out new books to do a sale this week or post a lot of news. We are all working like crazy. Everything is moving forward and books are coming soon!
UPDATE: Rifts® Bestiary™, Volume One – June release
It has taken a while but this monster of a book is entering the final stage of production, and nobody is happier about it than we are. Next stop, the printer.
Don’t forget, we are not just collecting monsters and animals from Rifts® books and reprinting them. I am updating each and every one of them, making every creature feel like something new and expanded. Each one a comprehensive description filled with fun surprises and ideas for adventure and various uses by players and G.M.s alike. Beasts from across the Megaverse and ranging from delightful and helpful to monstrous and alien. Roughly 100 monsters and animals in the Rifts® Bestiary Vol. One, alone. Plus words from Erin Tarn about the wilderness of North America. June release.
UPDATE: The Rifter® #83 – June release
The artwork has been coming in all week. Another book soon to go into final layout.
- Treasures of the Megaverse® by Carl Gleba.
- Operation Minotaur for Beyond the Supernatural™ by Hendrik Härterich.
- Half-Ogre race for Palladium Fantasy RPG® by Ian Herbert.
- Prophet O.C.C. for Palladium Fantasy RPG® by Ian Herbert.
- Hunter/Vigilante for Heroes Unlimited™ by Matt Reed.
- The Superspy/Secret Operative for Heroes Unlimited™ by Matt Reed.
- News and Coming Attractions.
- 96 pages – $14.99 retail – Cat. No. 183 – June release.
UPDATE: The Rifter® #84 – July release
Wayne has made his selections and I will be assigning artwork soon. Another great issue full of fun and ideas.
- Source material for Rifts®, Heroes Unlimited™, Beyond the Supernatural™, and more!
- John Zeleznik cover.
- 96 pages – $14.99 retail – Cat. No. 184 – July release.
UPDATE: In the Face of Death™, a sourcebook for Dead Reign®
The next book on my schedule. I expect this one to go quickly. Artwork is done. As soon as I am finished with Rifts® Bestiary™ Volume One, I dive into finishing In the Face of Death™. A July release.
UPDATE: Garden of the Gods™ – Summer release
The cover is being painted and the interior artwork that is already coming in is looking great. This Palladium Fantasy sourcebook should be fuel for countless adventures and will be followed by the Lopan world book which explores the rest of the island nation, its people, and more adventure.
Garden of the Gods™ is a unique adventure engine that should give players and Game Masters plenty of fuel for their characters and games. The Raw Preview Edition gives you a great idea of what you can expect when the finished book is released later this summer. We cannot wait to get all these books into your hands. I am shooting for an end of July/Gen Con release, but August is probably more realistic.
UPDATE: Rifts® Chaos Earth® – Psychic Scream™ – Summer release
The interior artwork is being worked on even as you read this. Another epic sourcebook by Taylor White with additional material by Kevin Siembieda. Shooting for a July release, but no promises. I am pumped about this title.
UPDATE: Rifts® Titan Robotics™
Finished artwork and concept sketches for the Rifts® Titan Robotics™ Sourcebook are already starting to come in and looking fabulous. Half the art has been assigned and I will be assigning the rest very soon. As those of you who have purchased the Titan Robotics™ Raw Edition already know, there is a lot of new tech, power armor, robots, etc., in this book that needs to be illustrated. I now have a trio of artists working on the book, and will be assigning others. A summer or fall release, which depends on how quickly some other projects come together.
UPDATE: Rifts® Bestiary™, Volume Two – Fall release
Nothing new on this front, but we all want it to be released as quickly as possible. Looking at a fall release.
UPDATE: Rifts® Antarctica™
Nothing new to report. I think Rifts® Antarctica™ is going to surprise and delight a lot of people. It is also a great example of the fun you can have with the Raw Editions. The sold out Rifts® Antarctica Raw Edition is a far cry from what the finished book is going to be. Those of you who bought the Raw Edition get a glimpse at Palladium’s creative process. When you compare the two, you’ll see what we kept, what we eliminated, what we added, and how we embellished the material to reach the creative finale of the finished book coming this fall or winter. Fun and educational for those of you who aspire to be writers yourself or just like to have the inside track at Palladium. And true of all Raw Editions vs the finished book. Probably a fall or winter release.
UPDATE: The Disavowed™, Living Nowhere™, Beyond the Supernatural™ sourcebooks, and other titles
These titles and several others are NOT forgotten and are in various stages of active production or waiting for production. As always, just because a book is not specifically listed in every Weekly Update, it does not mean it is discontinued or in limbo, it means there are more immediate things to talk about or there’s no substantive news to report. We are anxious to put as many of the books you’ve been waiting for into your hands as possible over the next 18 months. That includes Chaos Earth® First Responders™, Rifts® Antarctica, Rifts® CS Arsenal™, Rifts® Living Nowhere™, Beyond the Supernatural™ sourcebooks, more Fantasy sourcebooks and other titles. So if a book you are waiting for is not mentioned in an Update, it means there is nothing new to report, but it should still be in the pipeline and news for it will be coming in the weeks or months ahead. Right now, we are focused on releases for the next six months, which by our count is 6-7 titles. And many of them are in various stages of production or development.
DriveThruRPG.com – Hope you have been enjoying the sales
We hope everyone has been enjoying the recent sales. It sure seems like it. The much anticipated Rifts® trilogy of novels is getting closer to finding its way to DriveThruRPG. The delay has been going over them with a new edit, and cleaning them up to be an even better read and fun experience. And since they are a trilogy, we don’t want to post one and then make you wait two months till the next one. We want to post each only a short time apart. We hope to have a few other things available soon too. Probably The Rifter® #80 will be next.
Recent PDF additions include the Palladium Fantasy RPG® Interactive Character Sheet: a Microsoft Excel-based character management system. Packed with features and data collected from every official Palladium Fantasy sourcebook to enable you to create Fantasy characters quickly (25 minutes!) and help you to update and manage them for years to come. The Rifter® #79 (Rifts®, Palladium Fantasy®, Heroes Unlimited™, Gaming through History, G.M., and more), The Rifter® #78 (the Modern Necromancer, Palladium Fantasy®, Rifts®, Splicers®, more); Rifts® Heroes of Humanity™, the Coalition’s response to the escalating Minion War™ crisis, Psi-Battalion, CS Demon Hunter, special training and more).
Dead Reign® Paper Miniatures Volume Three: Zombies, Dead Reign® Paper Miniatures Volume Two: Civilians and Dead Reign® Paper Miniatures Volume One: Survivors. There are also paper miniatures for Heroes Unlimited™, Palladium Fantasy® and Rifts®. A new, up-to-date, PDF Palladium Books Catalog. Nightbane® Dark Designs™ sourcebook with 60 new Common Talents, 38 new Elite Talents, 18 new Morphus Tables, all other Morphus Tables collected and more. Systems Failure™ RPG, a 160 page RPG that deals with alien invasion and a post-apocalypse setting that is fun and dynamic. Civilization is on the verge of collapse when the so-called "bugs" invade and turn humans into zombie-like slaves. Monsters, heroes and fun. A complete RPG and setting. Rifts® World Book 34: Northern Gun™ Two: 256 pages of technology and fun. 30+ power armors, 30+ body armors, 15 combat vehicles, 45 vehicles (hovercycles, etc.), 10 robot haulers, the Robodome and more. Bizantium and the Northern Islands™: the northernmost part of the Known World, the Cold Born, Necromancy ships made from dead sea serpents, 15 creatures, Random Sea Monster Generator, and more. Rifts® Northern Gun™ One. This fan favorite might be thought of as the big book of giant robots – an in-depth look at Northern Gun, 70+ weapons, 27 robots, NG O.C.C.s, key people and places, and much more. Mysteries of Magic™ Book One: The Heart of Magic™ with Wizards, their Apprentices, nearly 60 new magic spells and remember, magic and monsters in the Fantasy RPG are easily adapted to Rifts®, Chaos Earth®, HU2 and other settings. Wolfen Empire™ Fantasy sourcebook, the Great Northern Wilderness and Killer Winters, 12 Wolfen Tribes, Wolfen military and society, 15+ creatures, 5 full adventures, 101 adventure ideas, random encounter tables, notable people, places, plus FREE Sneak Previews of The Rifter® #80, The Rifter® #81, The Rifter® #82, and more on DriveThruRPG.com.
